


Space and Sorcery

by j520j



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game), Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Crack Relationships, Crossover Pairings, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Size Difference
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:21:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28158978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/j520j/pseuds/j520j
Summary: Traveling between dimensions is dangerous. And these two old men, who have already gone through really traumatic experiences in this matter, should know better.
Relationships: Maxwell/Siebren de Kuiper
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

Of course it didn’t work.

After all these years, did Maxwell still have any hope that anything he was going to do had the most remote chance of working? At least he didn't bring any innocent victims with him this time for other of his crazy trips through dimensional portals.

He was alone in that strange place, a large facility, lined with white metal, tangled cables, lights and screens that resembled those seen in kinetoscopes and in the cinema, but the images were incomprehensible, full of numbers and references that the magician did not understood.

However, as impressive as the images on those screens were, nothing could beat the frightening beauty of the landscape outside the place.

Maxwell was looking at Earth.

Even in his day, scientists already knew that the Earth was round. And they had already hypothesized that the abundant nitrogen in the atmosphere would give the planet a bluish color. But you couldn't be sure without an empirical observation, could you?

Well, the magician was having one now. The Earth was blue. And she was dreadfully beautiful.

Yeah, _dreadfull!_

"Oh, just my luck..." he murmured, shaking his head. “... I did another time skip, didn't I? And this time, a big one!”

The magician was never a fan of SCI-FI or the technological advances of his time or a few decades ahead. It was obvious that he was in the future, but he had no real precision of how much time had passed just by looking at that facility. For an instant, he almost wished Higgsbury was with him, the short scientist would have been ecstatic to find himself in such a place and look at the planet from the outside.

Well, but he could to be marvelled at that later, he needed to find a way to get out of there. Although, he had to admit, it was very difficult not to take his eyes off the fairy beauty of the blue planet before him.

"Kan ik u helpen?"

Maxwell almost jumped out of his skin and hit his head on the window glass. He looked back and realized he had company. A tall person — no… scratch that. Maxwell could be described as a _tall person_ with his 6’5. But the person who was approaching him was an authentic _behemoth!_ — walked towards him with slow, calculated steps.

He wore white clothes, strangely elegant for a futuristic standard. One could see that he was a mature man, with gray hair and an aggressive recessive hairline, cobalt blue eyes, a strong chin and an impressive hooked nose. He was a full head taller than the magician, which would be enough to put him in the wagon of a circus freak show.

When the two men were less than ten feet away from each other, with Maxwell's back against the window pane, the giant raised one of his angular eyebrows.

"Begrijp je wat ik zeg?"

In the first sentence, the magician had the impression that the man was speaking German. But no, that second sentence was obviously Dutch. He frowned, if it was German Maxwell could understand a little of what that titan was saying based on the context and the little study he had of the language in his distant school days, but there was no chance of him having a conversation in Dutch. Well, who knows, his futuristic host might know English?

"Ah, do you understand what I say?" he tried, keeping his composure in his voice as much as he could.

The man smiled.

"Yes, certainly." he said, taking his hands behind the wall that was his back. “It's good that we can talk now, as I think I have a lot of questions to ask. To begin with, what's your name?”

"Maxwell." the magician said, swallowing. And in the face of the larger man's expectation, the Englishman cleared his throat and added:

"Maxwell Carter, at your service." he added at the end, with a slight bow. Curtsying left him even more baffled, as he had to lower his head, making the difference in height between them even more evident. Since he was sixteen, Maxwell has not had to lift his head to look someone in the eye.

“It’s very kind of you to be ‘at my service ’.” the voice became softer, as if that gesture of courtesy had somewhat defused the host's distrust. His broad shoulders relaxed a little. "But, why are you here, Mr. Carter?"

“I know this is going to sound bizarre, but... I didn't want to be here. I don't even know where 'here' is to be exact.”

“Hmmm. I see." his frown in his wide forehead was very prominent, as if the giant was wondering whether or not he believed that statement. “A little difficult to deliberately invade this Space Station, much less unintentionally. But I checked my sensors and they found no weapons among your possessions. And I don't think anyone in their right mind would try to invade this place, having malicious intentions, unarmed.”

"Well, I must admit that sanity is not my forte." he jest.

The magician regretted having said that phrase at the same moment that it left his mouth. He figured it could make his situation worse. But, to his surprise, the behemoth's smile widened.

"Hahaha! I think I understand what you mean!” he held out his huge hand in the direction of the magician. Unsurprisingly, his handshake was firm, almost crushing. “My name is Siebren de Kuiper, by the way. And I believe that your coming to the Space Station was not planned, Mr. Carter, you are no even wearing proper clothes to survive here. These look like they came out of a cheap old Sherlock Holmes movie or something."

Maxwell bit his lip, trying not to give an unpleasant answer to the absurd derogatory comment about his clothes. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by the Dutchman, who looked down at his mouth with interest.

"Mr. De Kuiper... or, I must say, Dr. De Kuiper." he released the titan's hand and led his to the suit's lapel, lifting his chin. “You can be sure that being in this place... Space Station, did you say? Well, it wasn't in my plans to come to this place. It was an unfortunate mistake that I made, just one more to be added to my mountain of disasters, and that I will try to repair, if it’s still possible.”

"How do you know that I'm a doctor?" the man looked surprised and amused.

“For your composure, of course. And I don't think anyone with less than a doctorate in science could have come to a place like this. Well... I came, but that's another story. Hm... in your mention of a character regularly published in the dime novels, you may have noticed that I am not a man from this time.”

“Are you a time traveller?” he looked stunned

“Unintentionally, believe me! So it's my turn to ask a question: what year is it?”

"The year is 2080."

Okay, this time Maxwell screwed up with more than he expected. He knew he was in the future, but not _that_ far. The magician felt the blood drain from his face and his heart leap like a rabbit trapped. The visible shock on his face made Dr. De Kuiper raise his angled eyebrows in concern.

“Are you okay, Mr. Carter? Do you need to sit down?”

"I... I..." he reached forward, looking for support. It came in the form of the Dutchman's gigantic shoulder, who practically had to kneel for Maxwell to reach him. “Uh, I'm fine. Just give me a minute so I can... ah... HOLY SHIT!!!”

"Uh?" without understanding the reason for the fright, the giant asked, while holding the magician firmly by the waist. "Something wrong?"

Oh, Maxwell certainly had done bad things in his life, several, but not enough to be cursed with the company of _another_ obnoxious scientist who, apparently, had no knowledge of social treatment to know that lifting a person from the ground using levitation is something that you, as a minimum, must notify in advance!

He felt light, weightless. A situation that wouldn’t be so unpleasant if he had a minimum of control over the direction in which his body went. This was Dr. De Kupier doing, carrying the magician through the facility. Still not quite understanding the reason for his guest's despair, he just made a hand movement to open a bedroom door and then put him to bed. This brought the color back to Maxwell's face, blushing at being treated almost like a bride after the wedding.

"Traveling across dimensions and time can be really exhausting, both for the mind and the body." the man said, making gestures with his fingers that made objects float towards him. One of them was what appeared to be a transparent bottle, but whose material was lighter than glass. "Here. Mineral water. Get some rest, Mr. Carter. We can talk about your travels later, when you are recovered.”

"Uh... t-thanks..." Maxwell drank the water. It didn't seem to be much different from normal water, which was a relief. The bed where he was also very comfortable, especially after so long that the magician slept on straw mattresses. It was a big bed too, as Maxwell had never seen before. His feet did not stick out. "You are a good host, Dr. De Kuiper."

The spontaneous praise made the giant surprised.

"I try to be." he murmured, shrugging and showing a curiously sad smile. "I have little company around here, so the few visits I receive I try to treat with courtesy."

The man floated back toward the door, resting his feet (only now that Maxwell noticed the man was barefoot) gently on the metal floor.

“I will bring you a meal. There is a monitor connected to the primitive internet available on the top panel, in case you want some entertainment. If you need anything, just call. I will hear it from any point on the space station that I am.”

"Thanks." Maxwell pretended to understand everything the man said just so he could be left alone for a while.

Nodding slightly, the giant disappeared behind the door, which closed itself.

…………………………

"Fascinating." Siebren muttered to himself when security cameras showed the nature of the space station invader. Of everything bizarre he could imagine, he certainly didn't expect to see a thin, mature man dressed in a purple pinstripe suit. "The Universe and its idiosyncrasies never cease to amaze me."

It was rare for him to have visitors - much less invaders. The astrophysicist had been living in that place alone for almost two years. After his stormy attempts to work with Talon and Overwatch, he came to the conclusion that he worked better alone.

Some might say that his excessive exposure to microgravity for so long could negatively affect his body. Oh, not Kuiper's body. Never. Physically, he was in perfect condition. Even though he was over sixty, he could say he was at the top of his health. The biggest problem, which he still hadn't been able to solve, was with his mind.

Working alone helped him to focus. When he shared the laboratory with others, it was easy to be distracted. And when he was distracted, thinking about anything that didn't require his brain to fully focus on complex mathematical equations, he could hear _the music_. The damn melody that drained his sanity. And when this happened, things could get dangerous for those around.

It was best if he worked alone. If he was needed on the battlefield, they could call on him whenever they need. Truth be told, at that point he was already a neutral element for both Talon and Overwatch. With the exception of rare and brief visits by his former companions, Siebren hardly saw anyone.

And, it seemed, the station now had an invader. He didn’t appear to be hostile or dangerous. It was weird, very weird. In fact, the astrophysicist had never seen a figure so out of his element like that.

Well, he had better go to the stranger and find out what was going on.

.

.

.

Maxwell Carter was his name. He made a brief mention of being a man 'out of this time'. It seems that watching those silly mystery movies as a child served Siebren something. So, was he a time traveler? A man from the Victorian or Edwardian era? When the astrophysicist reported what year it was, the guy became weak on his knees.

It made sense: the measurements the doctor made on the space station's computer indicated that a portal had been opened. And due to the arrangement of the bosons, and the average number of particles according to the Fermi-Dirac statistics, it was not only a regular spatial displacement, but also a temporal one.

However, if this were possible, the computer could still quantify some kind of temporal hypothesis of how long it took from opening to closing the portal, specifying the amount of 'distance' that was crossed in the timeline, referring to the time that it was kept open (and expending energy in the process to remain open). Assuming that the man came from the year 1890 straight to 2080, the computer would show the time spent on stationary kinetic energy as 190 years.

This was why time travel was extremely hard. It wasn’t like opening a door in one year and leaving to another side in another year, simply. It was necessary to maintain the energetic workflow throughout the trip - like filling a vehicle with fuel. The wormhole concept had already fallen to the ground more than twenty years ago, and the only plausible hypothesis for a time travel to be possible without breaking the speed of light would be to expend an abysmal amount of energy to transport an individual down the timeline, from a point in the future without damaging his body.

This, automatically, already made it impossible to travel backwards. It’s impossible to go back in time, it’s something unnatural, more infactible than an object that has mass to break the barrier of the speed of light. Warp drive exists and is simple to achieve, but do this with time is much more complex.

It’s possible, as Tracer proved. She is able to travel in time, but for short periods of time: seconds, minutes or hours. And she can't ‘go back’… at most to slow down time. Nothing more than this.

Now, it’s simply unthinkable that a man from the Victorian or Edwardian Era, especially with the rudimentary technology they had at the time, could have made a colossal time jump like that.

And, according to the space station computer, it didn't.

On the screen, it was very clear that the time of stationary kinetic energy spent in opening and closing that portal was zero.

Impossible. Even the data collected from Tracer's travel shows the time it took to travel the timeline. But that man, Maxwell Carter, literally opened a door in the last century and left at the end of the 21st century without expending any energy. Now, even for a human being to move in the timeline naturally, just living, an expenditure of energy was made.

The only conclusion that remained was that he was lying. He didn’t come from the past, much less from Earth itself. He came from a place where the timeline was simply absent.

It didn't make sense.

Still, Siebren didn’t want to treat the man as an invader or a potential danger. Carter seemed visually shaken by what had happened, unless he was a great actor - and, truth be told, cheating the astrophysicist has never been such a difficult task. At least he was polite, and a man of culture enough to recognize a doctor when he saw one.

Shrugging, Siebren decided to prepare some food for the man in the meantime. Thin as he was, he certainly needed a good dose of protein and fat.


	2. Chapter 2

"Here you choose the flavor." Dr. De Kuiper explained, pointing to a series of colored rectangles arranged in the large metal container. "Here, you choose whether you want it hot or cold." he pointed to two more rectangles. “Here you control additions, such as milk, lemon, cinnamon, sugar, etc. Or you can choose none.”

"Ah..." Maxwell was both amazed and confused. “An earl gray, with a sugar cube. Hot, please.”

"Traditional, Green or Oolong?"

"What?"

“Heh, I'm going to order the traditional for you. See the buttons I'm going to push. You only need to do the same sequence when you want to order this same cup. Or you can try other combinations, don't be a stranger.”

The machine began to make a low, hissing noise, like a snake about to strike. And in less than twenty seconds, a cup of the authentic Earl Gray blend was in Maxwell's hands. He tasted the liquid and can hardly believe it was true.

"And people say I'm the one who makes sorcery!" said the Englishman, still looking at the dark liquid as if he were admiring a treasure.

"This is just one of the treats I got from Overwatch when I came to the space station." the astrophysicist patted the bodywork of the machine. “I usually prefer coffee to keep me awake, but good tea always calms my nerves. Mainly accompanied by stroopwafels.”

“You seem to have a very well-equipped residence, Dr. De Kuiper. It's amazing how technology has advanced in... ”

"Siebren, please." the astrophysicist asked, with a wide smile.

"Ah, right... Siebren!" he said, lifting his head to face that titan's face. Although the man was a good host, and did everything for the magician to feel comfortable, Maxwell was still a little intimidated. “As I was saying, Siebren, it's amazing how technology has advanced in the past two centuries! The things you have already shown me only in this confined space would be impossible even for the most fertile minds I have known, like Jules Verne and H.G. Welles!”

"And I still believe that much more fantastic things are yet to come." the astrophysicist said, pressing the buttons on the machine and also taking a cup of tea. Apparently, he chose a combination of tisane that Maxwell wouldn’t drink for ten thousand pounds - although the pounds didn’t exist in the year 2080 anymore. “In fact, I am currently doing some very advanced experiments with regard to displacement space. And I can say that your coming here has helped me to make a considerable leap.”

"I'm glad." the magician said, reaching up to his neck to loosen his collar a little.

To stay in that space station he had to change his wardrobe, since the effects of microgravity and the light but dangerous emanations of space radiation could damage his already weakened health. Now Maxwell was wearing a lilac version of De Kuiper's space uniform. At least, unlike the Dutchman, he could wear shoes.

"Of course, there is still more research to be done on what you call ... 'sorcery'." Siebren pursed his lips, making his chin more prominent. “When you arrived here, 68 hours ago, you said that you had opened an interdimensional portal using... how was it? Codex Umbra?”

“It was my guide, it’s true. But the power of its pages lies in the aforementioned sorcery, although I think this is an uninteresting term and one I dislike.” to make his point, Maxwell turned the contents of the teacup over while dramatically holding his little finger up. “Dark Magic is something that shouldn't have been accessed by humans. Well, I was foolish to have contact with it. And in doing so, I drew 'Theirs' attention, eldritch horrors that feed on humanity's negative emotions.”

"Yes you told me." the taller man gave a sympathetic smile. “I'm sorry about what happened to you. But I confess that I still haven't understood the whole context, especially your stay in a place... what was the name? ”

"The name of the place is Constant."

"Constant." Siebren repeated, almost enjoying the word. "A suitable name for a place where it doesn't seem to have a timeline."

"Uh, what?"

“Ah, I forgot to say: I finished checking the measurements when you got here. I confirmed it for the third time: the place you came from had exactly zero _Delta Tau_ , which is how we symbolize _proper time_ when we do this type of calculation.”

"Uh... great?"

"Sorry, I'm using too many technical terms, aren't I?" the man smiled. It was amazing how his smile had the ability to make such a huge man look harmless. "But what I mean is that the place where you were, time didn't go by."

“This is almost true. Really, for someone who comes from outside, time at Constant doesn’t go by. But for many native creatures there, it went normally. The breed of merms, which I got to talk about, are born, grow and die there. The same can be said about pig men. Or tallbirds. Anyway, time just doesn't work for the humans who are brought to that place.”

“Even so, you had the personal reference that time goes, right? For you, the impression you had is that the days went on normally.”

"I would never call a day at Constant 'normal'."

“Ah, of course. Even so, being the reference yourself, I imagine that you had a clear notion of the passage of time, although mathematically false. How long, more or less, did you 'have the impression' of staying there?”

"About fifteen years." Maxwell's gaze fell to the floor. When he looked up again, he found an expression of surprise and pity on Siebren's face.

"Fifteen...? Oh, I'm so sorry!”

“Okay, past is past. And speaking of the past... ”the magician cleared his throat. "... did you ever say that it’s impossible to go back in time?"

“We have already tested theory and practice and it is impossible. However... ”the Dutchman scratched his chin. “... it might not be impossible if we were to move to a place where time does not even exist as we know it, the aforementioned Constant. This means that, not having an exact number in the _Delta Tau_ , then there would be no logical reason for not commuting anywhere. A kind of bus stop before going to the desired place. This dimension that belongs to Them would be the Holy Grail of time travel!”

"Still, I would discourage anyone from going to this place." Maxwell frowned, annoyed by the astrophysicist's excessive enthusiasm. “It’s more dangerous than you think. And I'm not just talking about the dangers to physical integrity. Believe me: I've died there several times and it didn't make much difference, but that place moves your mind deeply and permanently. Nobody leaves Constant unharmed.”

Siebren had an expression of sadness on his face. His cobalt blue eyes stared into Maxwell's brown eyes longer than would be necessary. The magician swallowed, but felt unable to look away.

“Does Constant affect the mind? How?”

"It's hard to explain. And I think it doesn't work the same for everyone. For my part, I had many moments inside Constant where I was made a 'king' ... ” the Englishman made a gesture of quotation marks for the word king. “... but that my mind was not entirely mine. My low and selfish feelings made me kidnap several people to that place. People who now depend on me to get out of there. If you could help me to come back, Siebren, I would be very grateful. But I would not advise that you, and anyone else, have contact with a dimension as terrifying as that.”

Another moment of silence. More looks of concern and doubt.

"I appreciate your concern for me, Maxwell." the Dutchman said at last. “I can say that I understand how dangerous experiments can affect a person's mind... permanently. I'm sorry that you went through this. In any case, I will continue my research to find out how to send you back.”

"I appreciate it."

"Oh, and I think I'm going to need to take a look at Codex Umbra."

"I really wouldn't advise that." the magician shrugged.

“But that book is the key for me to send you back to Constant. How am I going to do this if I don't take a look?”

“Hmmm… let's do it this way: you do your research and I provide some information to fill in the gaps. And even with this small amount, there is still a serious risk that your mind will be affected by the daring power of that book. Believe me, it’s not pleasant!”

"Your stance is quite defensive, Maxwell."

"I have my reasons, pal."

"Very well." the bigger man sighed. “In this case, I'm going to go back to my lab. Just call me if you need anything.”

"Yes, thanks."

Siebren floated out (Maxwell was definitely not used to it yet) to the station's corridor that led to his private laboratory, the only place he asked the magician not to enter without authorization. Not that Maxwell insisted, he had the rest of the place to himself.

The technological devices equipped there allowed hours of entertainment of the most varied types. He had at his disposal almost all the books that humanity had already written at hand. It was more than enough to keep him busy.

Still, he was anxious. Very anxious.

...........................................

There was still a lot that Siebren didn’t understand about this ‘sorcery’ thing. As far as he can say, it was a more primitive way of controlling the fundamental forces of nature. Instead of using technology, mages used their mind and willpower.

It was not so different from what the astrophysicist did when he controlled gravity. But instead of spending years of study and reading in books written in Latin, this skill was practically screwed into his brain after the accident with his experiments.

And the side effect was that damn melody...

No, he didn't want to think about it. Focus!

The psychological damage Maxwell cited regarding the use of Dark Magic puzzled the scientist. The parallel was clear: magic, control of the energy of the universe, was not something that was made for the human mind to endure. As far as he was concerned, the Englishman had a stable mind. Perhaps the damage was not as great as he says, at least not to the same extent that the astrophysicist was subjected.

Did Maxwell hear some music in the back of his head when he found himself thinking about something?

No... focus!

Sighing deeply, Siebren went back to work. There were still many things he needed to investigate.

...........................................

"You still don't have the money, Carter?" the gangster swallowed a cigar and blew smoke towards the magician's face.

"Ah... Mr. Giglio!" William trembled from head to toe, adjusting his glasses on the tip of his nose. "I... I already have half! If that helps, I can make the payment now and... ”

"Half?" the man laughed. "Do you intend to pay your debt with only half the money?"

“No, I will pay you everything, I promise! I just need more time!”

"More time." the man repeated, taking a drag on his cigar. He looked around, making a broad gesture towards the magician's small, cramped apartment, full of magic props. “Do you think the landlord of this place would swallow this shit? I bet you pay him the rent on time!”

“I, uh... I understand your frustration, but I promise I will be able to do a great show very soon! It will make a lot of money and I will be able to pay my debt in full!”

"Are you trying to buy time?"

"Uh... yes?"

"Interesting." the man blew the cigar smoke again. "Okay, I'll give you one more week to pay your debt..."

"Oh! Thank you!

"... but you will have to pay me twice the amount."

"W-whaaaat ?!" the magician's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What’s the problem? Time is expensive, _mio caro amico_! I need to have a big compensation for not getting paid in full today!”

"Hey!" one of the mobster's henchmen, who was looking the magic props in the apartment, exclaimed. He was pointing to a wooden box. “ _Capo_ Giglio! Look! The disappearance box has a false bottom!”

"Hahaha, of course!" the man laughed. "Or did you really believe that magicians made people really disappear on stage?"

“Ah, I don't believe it! This was the trick I liked to see most at the circus when I was a kid! I was cheated, _I was cheated!_ ”

"Ah... wait—" William exclaimed, but it was too late.

The henchman started kicking and punching the wooden box. His magic prop was ruined.

"One week!" the mobster exclaimed. “You have a week to pay me twice your debt! Otherwise, you will end up like this wooden box. You will literally disappear! Hahahaha!”

Blood boiled in the magician's veins. He was tired of it, very tired. He was being ridiculed by the public, mistreated by New York citizens when they heard his accent, threatened by the mob... no, he couldn't take it anymore. Every man has his limit.

"Mr. Giglio!" he exclaimed, clenching his fists so hard that his nails hurt his palms. "I... I think I can pay my debt today."

"Oh?" the gangster was almost out of the apartment. "And are you going to pay as if you don't have the money, you stupid Englishman?"

"I will pay with _blood!_ "

William (no... Maxwell) tore open his palm with a razor. Black blood started pouring out of the wound, solidifying into the shape of a sword. That hurt, it hurt a lot, but the magician would make it hurt a lot more.

"Che cazzo?!" the Italian shouted, stunned. He raised his hands to try to protect himself.

It was useless because both the hands and the mobster's head rolled on the floor. The henchman tried to pull out his revolver, but it was a futile effort. Maxwell open his head with the sword, splitting the skull in two. Up the stairs of the building, more bandits started to climb.

And Maxwell carried out a real slaughter. With his sword drawn, he began to cut the mobsters. They fell one by one, forming a pile of corpses. A sickly and sadistic satisfaction washed over the magician, he was happy as never, fulfilled as never. The sight of the blood and guts scattered gave him ecstasy.

And then, his sword landed on a different body. Smaller, less robust than that of gangsters. This made the magician pause for a moment to understand what he was doing.

His sword had been buried in Wendy's body.

"U-uncle William..." she murmured, coughing up blood. "This... this k-killing ... is it really w-what you want...?"

"What?!" the man released the sword, which was stuck in the girl's small body. His hands were soaked with red and black blood. "No... what did I do?! What did I do?! Aaahhh!!! ”

"Maxwell ?!" a voice called him in the distance, but he barely noticed.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!" the world began to spin, an endless spiral of darkness, fear and regret.

"Maxwell, wake up!"

"Aaaa—!" the magician jumped on the bed.

He was not on Earth. He was lying on a huge bed, inside a strange and futuristic facility. The warm touch of a giant's hands on his shoulders made him anchor in reality.

"Maxwell?" the astrophysicist had a worried expression. "Are you alright?"

"Ah... I... ugh..." he put his hand on his chest. It felt like his heart wanted to break his ribs. "A nightmare... it was a nightmare!"

"It's all right." the Dutchman said, rubbing his shoulders to calm him down. “Whatever that nightmare was, you are safe. Nothing can harm you here.”

 _That is not the point!_ Maxwell wanted to say, but he bit his lip.

Yes, he was safe... the others were not safe with him around. And they never would be! Why the hell was he trying to get back to Constant? To put them in danger again? Maybe he shouldn't be back. Higgsbury was smart, he could manage to get everyone out of there without his help. Make everyone come home to their own time. Maybe Maxwell didn't even deserve to come home, maybe... maybe...

"Stop, you're hurting yourself." Siebren murmured, touching the magician's face lightly.

"Uh?!" the magician didn’t understand what the astrophysicist meant, until he swallowed saliva and tasted blood. He brought his fingers to his mouth. In his nervousness, he bit his lip so hard that he cut it off. "Oh... uh... silly me."

"Here." the scientist took a handkerchief out of his pocket and pressed it gently to the magician's lower lip. "Hold down to stop the blood."

That gesture of tenderness made an alarm sound in the Englishman's head. To begin with, he could hardly believe that a man of that size, with such an enormous hand, could be so delicate. Second, that robust thumb pressed into his mouth began to send controversial signals to his body.

The two looked at each other, and probably some kind of warning sounded in Siebren's head as well, who withdrew his hand and seemed to blush.

"Errr... I'll get you some tea." he said, turning his face timidly. "To calm the nerves."

"Thanks." was the magician's simple and sincere answer.

Siebren got up and floated towards the door. And Maxwell can't help but notice that he tapped his shoulder awkwardly in the doorframe. Something strange to happen to a man who seemed to have all his own movements coldly calculated.


	3. Chapter 3

The maintenance analysis of the space station went smooth as planned.

The nuclear reactors were stable and operating normally. The cosmic radiation insulators were in perfect condition, the gravitational and dimensional shields seemed to be stable - only one failure had occurred in the internal protection of the place and, fortunately, the results were not at all unpleasant.

Siebren was still studying how that failure had occurred, however. The dimensional breach that allowed Maxwell Carter to enter the space station had yet to be discovered. The astrophysicist had some hypotheses, but they needed to be confronted with empirical experiments and more theoretical information. He needed to get his hands on the Codex Umbra.

The scientist looked absently at his hands. He stroked his fingertips thoughtfully, remembering when the Englishman had a nightmare and woke up screaming in the guest cabin. He was so nervous that he bit his lip hard, making it bleed.

Those lips of his. So thick and shiny... warm to the touch...

With an angry growl, Siebren shook his head. He got up from the chair where he was sitting and floated to the roof of the station, accessing the engine system. A slight shift would be made towards a new internal gravitational zone, getting a little closer to the planet. The astrophysicist wouldn’t need to guide the station, as the on-board computer itself already knew what to do.

While the systems had 60% of the use concentrated for this displacement, Siebren had an entire hour free to do whatever he wanted.

He didn't want to think about music.

The main hall of the space station, which was destined for meetings and gatherings, was empty, except for Maxwell. A large panoramic window showed the Earth. The magician kept looking at it.

"With due time, you get used to it." the Dutchman said, chuckling as he approached.

"I think so." Maxwell turned and smiled, but looked back at the splendid Earth. “So many incredible trips have already been made by humanity, haven't they? So you mean we already went to the moon? And for Mars? Do we create advanced artificial intelligences that act like humans? Wow... what else are we’ll discover?”

"This is the point: we’ll only know in the future time being." the astrophysicist landed beside the magician, keeping his hands behind his back to resist the urge to put his arm around the smaller man's shoulder. Well, at least Maxwell was tall enough to reach Siebren’s shoulders, which most people couldn't say.

"And how are your studies on the ‘strange energy’?"

"Ah, yes." Siebren cleared his throat. “I am afraid that I have lost track. I'm really going to need to take a look at that book of yours if I want to continue my research on these mysterious forces called Darkness. ”

The two looked at each other for a few moments.

"I already said that your concern for me is appreciated, Maxwell." the scientist said, with a sympathetic smile. "But believe me when I say that my studies will not only help you, but help many other people."

"It was also what I believed in when I started studying the magic arts."

"Well, I'm not going to force you." he shrugged. “But I must say that, as long as I don't find out more about such portals and Their ‘magic ’, I have my hands tied. There is nothing more to be done to help you get back to Constant. You will stay here indefinitely. ” the taller man held himself back from saying that last sentence with more satisfaction than he should have.

"Tsk, if there's no other way..." the magician looked disappointed, but resigned.

He unzipped his clothes (he had finally learned to use a zipper) and removed the infamous Codex Umbra. Siebren bent to pick it up, but the Englishman withdrew his hand.

"Do you know Latin?" he asked, almost accusingly.

“In addition to my native language, I know English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese and Latin. I know enough Russian, Hindi, Hebrew and Mandarin to have a trivial conversation. Oh, and Sanskrit and Bengali, although I know more about reading than talking those two.”

"Show off!" Maxwell held out the book with a smile. “Do you see these bookmarks here? These are the parts that will help you to understand the dimension issue without your mind being too affected. But I don't think I will be able to stop you from reading the rest either. ”

"Believe me when I say that I also care a lot for my own sanity." Siebren opened the book on one of the marked pages. The feel of the analog sheets of paper was strange in his hands, but fascinating. "I'll check your notes and come up with a few questions for you in two or three hours."

There have been few opportunities for astrophysicists to handle books like those in recent decades. He remembered carrying these heavy objects in his backpack when he was in college, but since the time of his specialization, all knowledge was already distributed via digital.

But he had to admit that he always felt a slight nostalgia when he felt the paper in his hands. He remembered his youth. The nights he spent sleeplessly flipping through books and studying to be the scientist he was today. Although the book he was holding at the time was much older than any he had ever handled.

Almost reverently, he touched the pages carefully. The comments and glosses written in the margin, although chaotic, only added more beauty to that picturesque object. Siebren hadn't even started reading its content yet and was already fascinated.

"What song is this?"

"What?!" the Dutchman's eyebrows shot up. "What song?"

"The one you keep humming." Maxwell asked, with an expression of curiosity. "Once in a while, when you seem distracted, I notice that you start to mumbling it under your breath."

"Ugh." Siebren contorted his face in a frown. "It’s nothing."

Maxwell tilted his head to the side, without letting go of the bone. The scientist shook his head slightly and said:

"I ... I suppose it's okay to tell you that. But the truth is that since an accident that I had in one of my experiments a few years ago, I ... I hear... the melody of the universe. ”

"Uh, what?"

"Yes, I know it sounds crazy... and it really is." the scientist straightened his back. “Somehow, I gained the ability to listen to music that is spread across the universe. At times it sounds higher, as if I'm approaching a speaker. In others, it is lower, smaller than the sound of my own breathing. I try not to pay attention to it, concentrating on work or other trivial activity, but it’s not easy. The music can sometimes be exaggerated, powerful, overwhelming. And, in these moments, I usually... ” he paused while flexing the fingers of one hand. "... I usually lose control."

"Losing control how?" the magician seemed interested.

"I would say it’s like a panic attack." Siebren looked away. “My pulse speeds up, my breathing gets heavy, my skin sweats… the music gets louder! And I have the feeling that I'm going to die and that everything around me is going to fall apart, as if everything's gravitational pull would implode all the atoms in my body. ”

"Oh, wait." Maxwell turned completely towards the astrophysicist. "You feel like the world is falling apart, but in what sense?"

"You must have realized that I am able to control the power of gravity in my own body and in objects, right?" the Dutchman lifted the Codex Umbra gently into the air and made it float. “Well, somehow, my mind is connected to this gravitational power and, with a little training, I was able to control it with my own will. When I use this power the music tends to get a little louder, but softer and more friendly. However, sometimes, without any warning, the music starts to get too much louder, more aggressive... more insidious! It’s as if I no longer have control over my power and he has power over me. It's like, hmm, like it's... ”

"... magic?"

Siebren looked quite surprised.

“I can't say. You never really explained to me how your powers work or what you feel when you use them. ”

With a smile, Maxwell opened his hand. Black shapes began to emerge between his fingers, as if it were a liquid or something. It began to solidify in the form of a long, pointed object. A sword.

A sword made of Darkness.

 _Wait...!_ Siebren's brain started to spin the gears at an insane speed when he saw that object. _Is this substance ...?_

"This is one of the powers that They gave me when I started to decipher the Codex Umbra." Maxwell said, making some movements in the air with the gun, far enough away from the astrophysicist to avoid the risk of hitting him. “I can summon a sword, armor and tentacles made of darkness. I can even summon minions to help me, although for that I need nightmare fuel for them. You know, Siebren... sometimes, when I use this power, I also have the feeling that it is going to dominate me one day. That's why I asked you how you would describe yours— “

"Give it to me!"

"What?" Maxwell took two steps back when the bigger man approached. "Ah, do you think I'm going to use the sword against you?"

"No, no, no!" the astrophysicist insisted, extending his hand. "I just want to know what this substance is made of!"

"I already said! It’s made of Darkness! ”

"It seems more like a bizarre form of Dark Matter."

The two men looked at each other. Maybe they were using different words for the same thing?

“Listen, Siebren! Darkness... they hurt! ” the magician frowned. “They don't hurt me, because I'm already used to them. But anyone else who touches them can feel pain. I remember offering this sword for some of my companions at Constant to use, and not only did they report pain in their hands, but their sanity started to drop dramatically with every minute they held it!”

"It's okay, I have a high tolerance for pain." the astrophysicist kept his hand outstretched. “I need to know what the substance is, Maxwell! I need to feel it! And I promise I won't be holding you for more than a few seconds while I make a quick observation. It is unlikely to do any serious damage.”

"Ngh... fine."

Reluctantly, Maxwell handed the sword to Siebren. The scientist thanked him with a smile, opening the fingers of his hand and preparing to grip the gun's handle. He imagined that he would feel the sensation of a cut or a burn as soon as he held it.

It was much worse than that.

The instant the object touched his hand, the music started to sound absurdly loud inside the astrophysicist's head. The instinctive reaction of his body was to clench his fists, as if he were being electrocuted, which made his fingers grip the sword hilt tightly. Bad call, because he started to feel the - thus unofficially classified - Darkness entering his pores and starting to go up his arm, as if it were an infection.

"Siebren?!?" the magician exclaimed, holding on to his fist and trying to open his fingers. “Shit, drop the sword! Let it go!”

With a Herculean effort, the astrophysicist managed to drop the object on the floor. The physical pain passed, but the music continued to play loudly inside his head. He covered his ears, even though he knew that reaction was useless. The sound was so loud that he was almost sure his ears were going to start bleeding.

“Siebren! No... don't pass out on me! ” the magician took him by the massive shoulders. Despite the absurd noise, he could still hear Maxwell's voice quite clearly. "If you pass out, I definitely _won't_ have enough strength to take you to the infirmary!"

The scientist removed one hand from his ears and snapped his fingers, turning off the gravity of his own body. It was the last thing he did before he lost consciousness.

..............................

"Well... shit!" Maxwell murmured, looking at the unconscious figure of the astrophysicist floating in the air. He rubbed his forehead, annoyed. He was watching it coming. “I said this was not a good idea, you stupid continental! And now? What do I do with you?”

Unconscious, the huge man didn’t answer. Sighing, Maxwell started pushing him through the air towards the infirmary. It really made it easier to carry him, since Siebren had no more weight. Of course, this ended up causing another problem. When he tried to put him to bed, the magician noticed that the man's body was still floating a foot above the mattress.

"The Flying Dutchman, eh?" Maxwell said, laughing at his own stupid joke. “Well, but I can't take care of you with this instability. Let's see what we have here... ah!”

There were bandages made of resistant fibers in a box. He used them to tie the man by the arms and legs to the bed. It wasn't too tight, just enough to keep him in place.

Soon after he examined the man's right hand, the one he touched on the hilt of the sword. When at Constant, Maxwell had repaired small wounds in the palms of his companions who used his sword. This time, perhaps because Siebren had only touched the weapon for a few seconds, there was no visible wound. Even so his reaction was quite unexpected, he practically started going crazy the instant he touched Darkness.

Maxwell already had prior knowledge to recognize the signs of someone who passed out from sheer madness. A brain defense reaction to ‘shut down’ before it shorted out (as Wilson once explained). The breathing seemed steady, as well as the pulse. He lifted the astrophysicist's eyelids, looking into cobalt blue eyes of expanded pupils that flinched when the light illuminated them. It didn't look like he had a shock or anything, which was good news.

Almost absently, Maxwell began to caress the region around the titan's eyes, memorizing the wrinkles and expression marks the man had with the tips of his thumbs. Even though he was twenty-two years younger (physically speaking) than Siebren, the magician was certainly not far behind in the signs of aging.

His fingers went up to the head region and he felt that there were bumps in the skin under his shallow hair. Scars? Perhaps from the accident he had mentioned earlier? But they looked too straight, running from the top of the head to the base of the skull. Maxwell frowned, it didn't look like scars from a normal wound, but from cuts made deliberately. Did the astrophysicist undergo any brain surgery or something?

If it weren't a too sensitive topic, he would try to ask the Dutchman as soon as he woke up. In the meantime he continued to inspect his body, unzipping his clothes, looking for more injuries that could have been caused...

Oh, who he was trying to fool?

He withdrew his hands, uncomfortable. The last thing the magician would do at the moment was to harass the host who received him with all the patience in the world.

Speaking of patience, Maxwell never imagined that he had so much. Ever since he left the damn Throne of Nightmare the magician has always been the most active type, who defied even the Darkness itself to achieve its goals. For those who had the audacity to kidnap their own niece, making a small caress on the body of an unconscious man did not seem so serious.

Maxwell became soft.

Not that openly challenging a two-and-a-half-meter tall man was a smart move, of course. And the patience of that gentle giant made something sink inside the Englishman's chest. He still didn't feel deserving of such kindness after everything he did.

Seeing that getting into that guilt spiral again would not help him at all, Maxwell simply sighed and decided to pull up a chair and sit by the window overlooking the space. With so little medical knowledge, there was nothing for him to do but wait for the scientist to wake up.

To his surprise, it didn't take long. And to his even greater surprise, he didn't seem to wake up very well.

“ _Nee... nee, niet weer!”_ the man lying on the stretcher exclaims, pulling the bandages that tied his arms and legs. “ _Ze zullen me NIET meer arresteren_!”

"Siebren?!" Maxwell ran to the bed. It seems that the astrophysicist was having another panic attack. The magician approaches to release them from the bonds, but the giant has freed himself. Violently. "Hey, wai—!"

The titanic hand wrapped around the neck of the thinner man with ease, almost as if he were holding a stick or something. And Maxwell was sure those fingers were strong enough to crush his windpipe as if it were a paper ball. He tried to scream, but the air found no passage. He let out a drowned yelp, almost a death rattle. And it seems that this was the sound that woke the Dutchman out of his panic.

“ _Maar wat...?”_

His fingers opened and Maxwell fell to the floor. It was still difficult to breathe, his lungs having to work triple to suck a minimal amount of air to stay conscious.

"Ah... Ma-Maxwell ?!" already free of the bonds (which were never strong enough to really keep him tied up) Siebren knelt beside the magician. "I... oh, I'm sorry! Please, forgive me! I... I lost control! For a moment I thought that I was again... again in ...! ”

The Englishman coughed a few times while raising a hand, in a sign asking the astrophysicist not to worry. He put his hand on his neck, massaging it.

"Alright... it's alright ..." he cleared his throat. "It was my fault... it was stupid to tie you up after you told me about the song... about the madness..."

"Ah yes. I... I am afraid that, due to my emotional lack of control after the accident, I spent a very difficult period in an asylum.” the astrophysicist sighed. "I don't like being tied up."

"Heh, neither am I, pal."

Siebren looked up, a curious expression on his face. He stood up and held out his hand, helping the magician to rise from the floor. Then he offered his body as support.

"I can walk." Maxwell protested.

"Why walk if we can fly?"

With a small surprise, Maxwell was lifted off the floor. The two left the infirmary and went to another area of the space station, wider and brighter. It appeared to be a kind of greenhouse, with some species of plants growing under artificial sunlight. The scent of flowers filled the Englishman's nose.

"Aloe vera and azaleas produce a lot of oxygen, and their aroma helps to open the lungs." he lifted the magician's chin gently. “Hmmm, I'm not seeing any marks, other than a passing redness. Are you feeling pain?"

"No." he spoke with a slight difficulty that didn’t go unnoticed by the astrophysicist's watchful eye.

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better." Siebren's expression was one of remorse. "Be honest, please. Are you feeling pain? It looks like you're having a hard time swallowing. ”

"I ..." Maxwell wrapped his long thin fingers over the Dutchman's sturdy hand. "... I would say that I have a slight difficulty in breathing now... because you took my breath away."

The two men blushed at the same time. The astrophysicist's hand was still holding the magician's chiseled chin. And the movement he made seemed natural and right.

Thin, smooth lips rested on large, lustful ones. They kept the kiss chaste for only a few seconds, until Maxwell's tongue asked for passage, to which Siebren was happy to concede.

Time is relative in space. And in that moment, for both men, time had stopped.


End file.
